Nokia reveals NFC-powered “Hello” communication platform

You can say a lot of things about Nokia, but you can’t really say that it ever runs out of ceative ideas. Enter Nokia Hello, which strives to make it easier if you’re trying to talk to someone who speaks a different language than you. Powered by Near Field Communication (NFC), Nokia Hello lets one user type a message in one language, and then swipe it next to another phone to get an instant translation on the recipient’s end.

This of course isn’t the first attempt at using phones to break the language barrier. There are several other apps that allow text-based translations, or even allow users to speak something in one language and have the translation read aloud. However, this project from Nokia unique because it actually sends the message between phones. Although, according to Nokia, it isn’t just about sending messages between different languages.

“The team working on the project estimate that the need for speech interactions with work colleagues could be eliminated entirely by 2015,” Nokia boasted in an official blog post. Is that really something to brag about, though? There have been many proposals for how NFC technology will revolutionize the market, but this is the first time we’ve seen someone talk about using it to prevent manking from needing to exchange verbal communication.